So I have researched the spay procedure extensively to make certain that I want to go through with this surgery. What I found lead me to believe that I should allow her to mature more then 6 months before putting her through this procedure. So she is now almost 18 months and has gone through 2 heat cycles (she is in the middle of one right now), and we will be spaying her in March. Have any of you members noticed your females changing in their personality? I have heard that sometimes females can become aggressive after the surgery has been performed because of the imbalance in hormones? Has this happened to any of you? Have your females become more aggressive post spay? Maybe I just need comfort... it's a big surgery...

I've had four females go through spays and have known many, many more. It did not change any of their personalities. I think that myth came about because dogs change as the become adults. The personality changes with or without the reproduction parts.

BrokenAquarian wrote:I've had four females go through spays and have known many, many more. It did not change any of their personalities. I think that myth came about because dogs change as the become adults. The personality changes with or without the reproduction parts.

This.

We do spays every day at the clinic where I work. The only time I ever saw a rough surgery and recovery was with a bulldog who had a horrible closed pyometra. Her uterus was a massively engorged sack of pus. Every other case has been routine and without complications.

BrokenAquarian wrote:I've had four females go through spays and have known many, many more. It did not change any of their personalities. I think that myth came about because dogs change as the become adults. The personality changes with or without the reproduction parts.

Great to know. She is an amazing dog and I want her to stay that way. After weighing the pros and cons of intact vs altered I decided that pyometra scares the crap out of me. I just won't risk it. I also would LOVE to get rid of these diapers LOL, her an my daughter are the same size

BrokenAquarian wrote:I've had four females go through spays and have known many, many more. It did not change any of their personalities. I think that myth came about because dogs change as the become adults. The personality changes with or without the reproduction parts.

This.

We do spays every day at the clinic where I work. The only time I ever saw a rough surgery and recovery was with a bulldog who had a horrible closed pyometra. Her uterus was a massively engorged sack of pus. Every other case has been routine and without complications.

Your vet will go over the risks of anesthesia with you if you ask

Is anesthesia a fairly low risk for most dogs? I will be getting the pre- blood work to make sure she is up to it... anesthesia scares me to I will be talking it over with my vet but the thing is: my vet that I take my girl for her shots/de-wormer/check ups just began a spay on my cousins dog and her dog died from the anesthesia. Should I not trust them or does this happen to every vet once in a while? What questions should I ask? What type of anesthetic should I avoid?

Anesthesia is low-risk for most dogs, and pre-anesthetic bloodwork really helps. Anesthesia is less about the drugs and more about the level of care and monitoring during the procedure.

Ask things like...

Will she have an IV catheter in place during the procedure? (should be yes)Will she be intubated during the procedure? (should be yes)How will she be kept warm doing the procedure?What kind of pain management do they use? (she should have an opiod on board during surgery/recovery and either a long-acting opiod or oral NSAIDs to go home)Who monitors her and does she have a dedicated person to monitor her while under? What about during recovery?What kind of equipment do they use to monitor? A minimum would be a pulse oximeter (looks at how well oxygenated her blood is), heart rate and rhythm (mechanically or manually), blood pressure, and body temperature. If they have capnography (measures how well she is getting rid of carbon dioxide) and EKG (looks at her heart rate/rhythm in more detail) = even better.

It is hard to know without being there what happened with your cousin's dog (RIP). Sometimes you can do everything right and there is that rare, freak accident. But (and I say this as a vet student) not all vets are up to speed on what they should be doing for anesthesia. And places that are operating out of a shelter or are super low cost may not have all the resources that I listed above in terms of monitoring (or they may - just ask)... this is not meant to trash talk them at all... they serve an extremely important purpose but they may not have everything you want for your baby.

If you're not 100% comfortable having it done at your regular vet, ask around for recommendations and don't feel bad asking the vet a ton of questions. It's their job to make you comfortable and help you understand the ways they will be keeping your baby safe.

That is a silly question - they don't gain weight or change personalities short of normal growth-related changes! Yes, they may be less aggressive and may mark less but the dog you know and love doesn't change just because it's speutered.

It's not a silly question... there is a lot of research right now looking into behavior/hormones/sterilization. Nothing compelling enough to me to change my mind about the importance of spaying and neutering, but it's not entirely unfounded.

We learned in vet school that an animal's calorie requirements decrease after getting fixed, but their level of hunger actually goes up. So it takes more on the part of the owner to keep them at a healthy weight. It doesn't CAUSE them to gain weight exactly, but it means you need to adjust how much you are feeding.

HappyPuppy wrote:That is a silly question - they don't gain weight or change personalities short of normal growth-related changes! Yes, they may be less aggressive and may mark less but the dog you know and love doesn't change just because it's speutered.

I wasn't wondering if she would become more or less aggressive (she isn't aggressive at all), I was wondering if she would become aggressive or temperamental. I have read studies that were done on German Shepherds in the 90's-- http://www.associationofanimalbehaviorp ... ering.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;I don't find it a silly question at all and I am slightly offended by that statement. Although-- I DO hope you are correct and that she will not change at all after the procedure.

Last edited by vicarious on Sat Dec 22, 2012 2:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

PITtsburgher wrote:Anesthesia is low-risk for most dogs, and pre-anesthetic bloodwork really helps. Anesthesia is less about the drugs and more about the level of care and monitoring during the procedure.

Ask things like...

Will she have an IV catheter in place during the procedure? (should be yes)Will she be intubated during the procedure? (should be yes)How will she be kept warm doing the procedure?What kind of pain management do they use? (she should have an opiod on board during surgery/recovery and either a long-acting opiod or oral NSAIDs to go home)Who monitors her and does she have a dedicated person to monitor her while under? What about during recovery?What kind of equipment do they use to monitor? A minimum would be a pulse oximeter (looks at how well oxygenated her blood is), heart rate and rhythm (mechanically or manually), blood pressure, and body temperature. If they have capnography (measures how well she is getting rid of carbon dioxide) and EKG (looks at her heart rate/rhythm in more detail) = even better.

It is hard to know without being there what happened with your cousin's dog (RIP). Sometimes you can do everything right and there is that rare, freak accident. But (and I say this as a vet student) not all vets are up to speed on what they should be doing for anesthesia. And places that are operating out of a shelter or are super low cost may not have all the resources that I listed above in terms of monitoring (or they may - just ask)... this is not meant to trash talk them at all... they serve an extremely important purpose but they may not have everything you want for your baby.

If you're not 100% comfortable having it done at your regular vet, ask around for recommendations and don't feel bad asking the vet a ton of questions. It's their job to make you comfortable and help you understand the ways they will be keeping your baby safe.

Thank you very much for this information! I will spare no expense when it comes to her going under anesthetic... if I have to go to a different vet for this specific procedure I will. I have even heard of laser spay surgery?? What is your opinion on it?I will be asking a ton of questions!

I didn't mean to sound like a know it all or discount your question - and I do not have experience with a lot of dogs - but with my dog and everything I've read and seen, there was no change. I get annoyed with people whose dogs gain weight after spay (and they blame it on the speuter) because they are simply feeding too much for the situation......